Gourdin & Müller: FaltenReich – A Wealth of Wrinkles

5, Johannis Square, Mitte, Leipzig, Germany

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Gourdin & Müller: FaltenReich – A Wealth of Wrinkles

5, Johannis Square, Mitte, Leipzig, Germany

Type

Cultural › Museum

YEAR

2009

ContextIn 2009 a special exhibition opened at the GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde on a 650 m² surface area, dedicated to ageing and its various facets in Germany and other cultures.
Spatial concept
The exhibition title »FaltenReich« refers to the external changes that affect the human skin from the first hours of life onwards. As a metaphor
for this, fabric was used for the design of the exhibition. This triggers associations of vitality and lightness: mobilised by streams of air, it symbolises the action of breathing. Room-height swathes of fabric define a meandering path through the three consecutive exhibition rooms.
Design concept
The textile material serves both the spatial structure and the illustration of content. Portals of white flags guide the visitor to each theme and, in combination with the alternating colours, lend the exhibition a rhythm of its own. Questions
and quotes arranged diagonally across the fabric are directed at the visitors, joining exhibition fixtures, audio and video points in characterising the interactive part of the exhibition.Heritage conservation
Heritage conservation concerns meant that
an exhibition system was required that left the rooms untouched. An aluminium construction produced for this purpose was installed as a supporting fixture for the flag elements.